Interpretation-Hermeneutics

While a number of Christians hold that Romans 1:26-27 describes homosexuality and rejects it in all its forms, considering it to be sin, others acknowledge that the passage is dealing with homosexuality but they claim that the issue in Paul is idolatry and pederasty, and that Paul could not have ...

It is quite interesting to sit in a Sabbath School class and listen to the discussion of a biblical passage listed in the Bible Study Guide. There are some classes who stay with the historical perspective of the text. They discuss the text or story in its original setting, for example, the Book o...

The controversy over the doctrine of the Trinity in the church is now present in several parts of the world field. One of the arguments used to support the idea that Christ was not eternal but that He had a beginning is that the title monogenēs means “only begotten.” As we will indicate, this i...

I. What Is a Paradox? A recent newspaper article discussed the “paradox of plenty.” In the long run, resources in oil, gas, diamonds etc. lead to poverty in developing countries. Economists talk about the “Dutch disease.” Exports of resources strengthen the currency but weaken the national indust...

In Colossians 1:15 Paul states that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation.” This text has often been understood in the sense that Jesus was born before the creation of humankind and in one way or another emanated from God the Father in ages past, or that Jesus was created by the Father and then...

What is a discrepancy in the Bible? For our purpose, a discrepancy in Scripture would be an idea, a thought, or a statement that appears discordant with or contradictory to other ideas or statements elsewhere in the Bible. Now the critical question is this, Are there discrepancies in the Bible? T...

The number 666 found in Rev 13:18 has always intrigued people. For a number of years now, a new suggestion has been circulating which was treated by some as “new light” and seemed to be attractive to a number of church members. It was proposed that the number 666 has to do with papal names. The s...

In books on Pauline theology, it is common to speak of the “in Christ” motif. Usage of this expression is fine when “in Christ” is understood as a general phrase for a comprehensive idea. To be more accurate we should speak of the “in Him” concept, for it is a complex idea with a double reference...

Seventh-day Adventist Statement of Faith #15: The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour. In this experience of communion Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people. As we pa...

Introduction The practice of hermeneutics has been part and parcel of human history. Hermeneutics as a human activity arises from the need to interpret a thought or text of another. Although throughout history the word hermeneutics has been defined in numerous ways, there is inherent in the Greek...